Report finds 'Prevention Better Than Cure' for youth homelessness

A new report from the Wales Centre for Public Policy has found that prevention is better than cure for youth homelessness.

When we launched our campaign to end youth homelessness in Wales within the next 10 years, the First Minister Carwyn Jones commissioned research to analyse what Welsh Government could do to tackle the issue. The report, published on 25th October 2018, has found that early interventions which stop young people from becoming homeless before it happens are key to eradicating youth homelessness.

Frances Beecher, CEO of Llamau said:

On behalf of all the young people that Llamau works with and our colleagues, who every day deliver lifechanging support, I want to say how delighted I am to see this important report published. I’d like to express my thanks to both the First Minister and the Minister for Housing and Regeneration for their commitment and support to ending youth homelessness thus far and to urge them to keep up the good work.

We stand by all of the report’s recommendations and are pushing for the preventative, collaborative approach, which it champions, to be Wales’ default position, via the End Youth Homelessness Cymru coalition. Llamau is proud to be the lead partner of a diverse coalition committed to finally ending the blight of youth homelessness in Wales and we look forward to working together to ensure that these recommendations are seen through.

End Youth Homelessness Cymru will continue to deliver on its objectives of making youth homelessness everybody’s business and championing the systemic changes needed to meet our aim. Alongside this work, we acknowledge that many of the solutions to preventing youth homelessness are laid out in this fine report and we will endeavour to ensure that its recommendations are met, enabling us to end youth homelessness in Wales within the ten-year time-frame set out by the First Minister.